*OFFICIAL* CC Group Cruise 02/15/2014 Cupid's IV Southern Caribbean - Carnival Breeze

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

Today is Dave's birthday. We will go out for dinner but I'm not sure if it will be tonight or not. We'll try to see if there is a night this week that the kids can go too but if we can't all get together then Dave and I will just go. We went to Coopershawk Winery for my birthday dinner last month and at that time we signed up for their wine club. One of the perks is a free birthday dinner. I didn't get the free dinner that night because we hadn't signed up yet but a couple of weeks later we both got cards in the mail for the free dinner so I guess we will go use those and we will both eat for free. It's a wonderful restaurant and their wine is good too.

 

I haven't heard back from Shoretrips as to whether or not there was room on the sunset sail. I hate this waiting but they said it would take up to 3 days and today is only day 2. It's too bad they can't tell you right away whether or not there is space on an excursion but I guess when you have excursions all over the world it's impossible to have up to the minute inventory on every excursion. I'm sure they have to contact the tour operator with each request.

 

We are experiencing some wonderful fall weather. It's very cool at night but sunny and getting up into the upper 60's to mid 70's during the day. I love it. I just hate knowing that colder weather is not far behind. At least we have the cruise to look forward too. We haven't had to turn the furnace on yet. It feels pretty chilly in the house in the morning but when I check the temperature in the house it's usually a degree or 2 above where our thermostat is set for heat so even if I turned it on, it wouldn't kick in. It just feels so cold because we aren't used to it yet.

 

Have a great day. :)

[Cruisin Dave]

Happy

Birthday

Dave!

[HeidiHo]

Happy

Birthday

Dave!

 

 

Dave says thanks!

 

How's this for coincidence? Staci's new job takes her all over the place to different events. They will have a booth at a farmers market or a health fair. Sometimes at a grocery store or pharmacy. I was asked to do an event for the travel agency at a restaurant for ladies night but i turned it down because I was hoping we'd be able to go out to dinner for Dave's birthday. We couldn't go tonight though because Staci had to work. As it turns out, she is working at the same event I was asked to work at. Now I am kicking myself for turning it down. that's not the end of it though, tomorrow, Dave's company is having a health fair and Staci was assigned to go there. So now Dave is going to be dragging all his friends down there to try and get them to sign up for a chiropractic evaluation. this could really help Staci a lot because she needs to sign up a lot of people in order to complete her training.

 

Haha! Staci is at the ladies night event right now and she just sent me a text telling me that she signed up the recruiter from our agency because she is working at our booth. I told her to go over to them and introduce herself. I will be doing a ladies night at another place next month but I don't know if Staci will be at that one. One of these days we'll probably end up at the same event though.

[momofzeke]

Happy Belated Birthday to Chicago Dave!!!!!

 

I still haven't heard back from the shoretrips company about confirmation of the sunset cruise in Curacao. Today is day 4, so hopefully we will hear from them soon.

 

We're headed to Eugene tomorrow for another Duck game, which means Family Time, which means YAY for me!!

 

Have a great weekend!

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

Well, I guess we can forget about the sunset Sail Excursion in Curacao through Shoretrips. :( Apparently they only operated 1 -2 days a week and even though the Shoretrips website says it operates on Wednesday, they are going to be changing that day in 2014. Shoretrips hasn't updated the website yet because they I think they only just found this out and they haven't even been told yet what day they will be operating. Didn't someone here say the saw something similar with another tour operator. I thought maybe it was Shore Excursions Group but the only thing I see that they have is a private yacht charter. That's awful pricey ($214.00 per person for 4 people) unless we can get to the maximum of 14 people, then it's only $88.00 per person. Carnival has a boat trip that takes you to a beach for sunset but that doesn't interest me as much as the Sunset Sail. I will keep researching I guess.

 

Have a great weekend.

[HeidiHo]

I sent an email to another tour operator who offers a sunset sail but i suspect they are the same tour operator that Shoretrips was booking because their website also said they operate on Wednesday's only also. we'll see if they get back to me.

[AKB10]

Happy Friday Cupid's!!!

 

I got off work early and started investigating Curacao and sunset cruises. Here are some sites I found. Some are public bookings and some are for private charters. We may have enough interest to do a private charter of our own.

 

http://www.piscabayboattrips.com/

 

http://www.adrenalinetourscuracao.com/page.php?section_id=11

 

http://www.bountyadventures.com/

 

http://www.adventurescuracao.com/pages/34427/Sun_Set_Trip.html

 

http://www.island-experience.com/index_new.php

 

trip adviser reviews -

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147277-d150220-Reviews-Klein_Little_Curacao-Curacao.html

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147277-d2229445-Reviews-Bounty_Adventures-Curacao.html

 

About the bridge -

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147278-d148574-Reviews-Queen_Emma_Pontoon_Bridge-Willemstad_Curacao.html

 

Edited September 27, 2013 by AKB10

[AKB10]

And there is always Carnivals -

Beach Fun By Boat & Sunset

 

Enjoy a boat ride along Curacao's coastline and enjoy the beautiful Seaquarium beach.

Excursion Description

 

Your relaxing time at the Beach begins with a scenic boat trip when you are picked up at the ship dock.

You will cruise to the Seaquarium dock. As you travel along Curacao’s coastline, you will have a view of Curacao’s notable monuments and beautiful beaches.

Upon arrival, you will be taken to Seaquarium beach area where you may simply relax on your complementary beach chair as you sip your complementary beverage.

Take a swim, a walk, or just sit beneath the shade of a coconut tree. Watch the sun go down and enjoy a (rum) punch on the way back to the harbor.

A bar and restaurant are located on the beach for your convenience.

NOTE: A swimsuit, towel, water shoes, and sunscreen are recommended. Snorkel equipment can be rented on the boat. Depending on the time of year, the sunset may be enjoyed on either the boat ride back or the beach. Some facilities on the beach may close after sunset.

 

 

It is $54.99 each and is from 2:30 - 6:30 PM

 

Edited to add - It looks like the sunset is around 5:45 PM that time of year. I am just guessing from this site (It does not list Curacao as an option)

 

http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon

 

Looks like a full moon though for part of our cruise.

Edited September 27, 2013 by AKB10

[AKB10]

Our plans so far are -

Grand Turk - Cabana rental with Dave and Bettie (Dave do you want me to send payment now or pay you on the ship?)

Dominican Republic - Altos De Chavon River Boat Cruise

Curacao - Sunset Cruise???

Aruba - Kukoo Kunuku Open Air Bus & Beach Break - We have this reserved through Carnival, but may change our mind. It had gotten excellent reviews until the last few months, but now the reviews are pretty bad.

Miami - If we fly I would like to take the Everglade / Airport tour, depending on flight times.

 

[HeidiHo]

The Sunset Cruise by Bounty Adventures is the same one that we tried to book through Shoretrips. I sent Bounty Adventures an email today asking if they were the same and got a reply back saying that yes, they were. The odd thing was, he said the reason the sunset cruise was no longer available was because Carnival has booked it so if we want it, we can book it through the ship. The only thing is, Carnival is not showing it. It could be that it is so new that it's not on the website yet. I don't think the sunset beach excursion is the same. There is no mention of a catamaran in their description plus I think I have seen pics and the boats for the beach are just big motorized pontoon boats, not catamarans with sails.

[HeidiHo]

This sounds good.

 

http://www.island-experience.com/sunset_experience.php

[anamarieus]

wow that sounds awesome!

[Cruisin Dave]

Our plans so far are -

Grand Turk - Cabana rental with Dave and Bettie (Dave do you want me to send payment now or pay you on the ship?)

Dominican Republic - Altos De Chavon River Boat Cruise

Curacao - Sunset Cruise???

Aruba - Kukoo Kunuku Open Air Bus & Beach Break - We have this reserved through Carnival, but may change our mind. It had gotten excellent reviews until the last few months, but now the reviews are pretty bad.

Miami - If we fly I would like to take the Everglade / Airport tour, depending on flight times.

 

 

Later is fine. I'm not in a big hurry. Should be a nice relaxing morning in Grand Turk.

[AKB10]

This sounds good.

 

http://www.island-experience.com/sunset_experience.php

 

That tour is listed as only available on Friday. :(

 

This is a tour listed for when cruise ships are in port and looks like fun.

 

http://www.island-experience.com/land_sea_sunset_tour.php

 

I had also e-mailed Bounty Adventures and got a reply that their sunset cruise could be booked aboard Carnival. I guess we will need to watch for the shore excursions on Carnival to see if they change.

[Dspcentury]

It has been already a week from sailing on NCL Breakaway and getting ready for the Carnival Breeze!!. Adrianne and I had a great time and it was nice to see Gail. We gave her a tour of Times Square and also took her to Brooklyn were we live. She got a chance to go to the famous cheesecake place called Junior's.

Gail and I both did the freefall slide. It was scary and amazing all at the same time.

Adrianne and I are still deciding on what excursions we want to take but I do know that she wants to do the stingrays tour in Grand Turk. I first saw it on the website and now I can't find it. I think I will call Carnival. If anyone has any suggestions about excursions at other ports of call..please let us know.

 

David...

 

 

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[HeidiHo]

Good Afternoon! I am in Chicago this afternoon helping my niece and her husband get settled in their new apartment. They actually moved in last weekend but they have a 2 year old so getting unpacked has been difficult. i am actually mostly just watching the baby while they un-pack. she's napping right now though so I have a break.

 

We are also watching the Port Everglades webcam because my nephew and his wife are leaving on the Oasis of the Seas today. Sail away is supposed to be in about an hour. It's a cruise that they purchased from me. Another one of my clients just came back on Monday from a med cruise. they sailed on the Epic on a Sunday and didn't get their luggage until Tuesday. She said the cruise was still absolutely fantastic. She wasn't even very upset about the luggage situation because it was handled very well. The cruise line gave them t-shirts, toiletries and free laundry until they got their luggage.

 

Have a great weekend.

[Flick]

That happened to us on our NCL cruise around the British Isles on The Dawn. Our luggage didn't arrive for 5 days but the ship really took care of us with different officers sending bottles of wine to the cabin, free laundry every night, t_shirts plus they tracked our luggage and told us at least twice a day where it was or supposed to be. Finally we were docked in Cork and they sent a truck to Dublin to get our luggage. THEN our problems started...we had to decide each day what we were going to wear that day!!!

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

Marathon Dave - In case you didn't see, Cruise Critic posted your group pic from your cruise on the Breakaway on Facebook. I was able to spot you and Adrianne in there but I wasn't sure about Gail. Is she the one stand next to Adrianne? It looks like her but it's just not close enough to tell for sure.

 

Not much is going on here. We are still experiencing beautiful weather. I wish it could be like this year around. I have shopping to do today and then work tonight.

 

Have a great day. :)

[lellie]

It has been already a week from sailing on NCL Breakaway and getting ready for the Carnival Breeze!!. Adrianne and I had a great time and it was nice to see Gail. We gave her a tour of Times Square and also took her to Brooklyn were we live. She got a chance to go to the famous cheesecake place called Junior's.

Gail and I both did the freefall slide. It was scary and amazing all at the same time.

Adrianne and I are still deciding on what excursions we want to take but I do know that she wants to do the stingrays tour in Grand Turk. I first saw it on the website and now I can't find it. I think I will call Carnival. If anyone has any suggestions about excursions at other ports of call..please let us know.

 

David...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hi David,

 

I'm so glad I found you! It was so nice meeting you and Adrianne. I was hoping I would see you both again, after the pool. Adrianne and I had a really nice conversation one day, up at H2O and I was thinking it would be nice to stay in touch:D

 

We're sailing on the Splendor on Dec. 3, (my B-Day). We also had a nice time on the Breakaway, much better than the Inaugural sailing:eek:

I read somewhere on cruisecritic that we're not supposed to post our email address??

 

Meryle

[Cruisin Dave]

David,

I'm not seeing the Stingray excursion either. Maybe it is full and if so, you can be placed on a waiting list. I know that the cruise lines sometimes hold back several placements for those that do not book before boarding. Check the exursion desk asap you board. I did see a Stingray excursion on another website. Try the Shoreexcursiongroup dot com. They have an excursion to Gibbs Cay.

Dave

[Dspcentury]

It was nice meeting you too!! My email address is dspcentury@aol.com.

 

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[ktravel]

That tour is listed as only available on Friday. :(

 

This is a tour listed for when cruise ships are in port and looks like fun.

 

http://www.island-experience.com/land_sea_sunset_tour.php

 

I had also e-mailed Bounty Adventures and got a reply that their sunset cruise could be booked aboard Carnival. I guess we will need to watch for the shore excursions on Carnival to see if they change.

That's looks like perfect way to see the island

[Dspcentury]

David,

I'm not seeing the Stingray excursion either. Maybe it is full and if so, you can be placed on a waiting list. I know that the cruise lines sometimes hold back several placements for those that do not book before boarding. Check the exursion desk asap you board. I did see a Stingray excursion on another website. Try the Shoreexcursiongroup dot com. They have an excursion to Gibbs Cay.

 

Dave

I contacted Carnival and they are looking into why it is not posted. Thanks Dave I will also look at that website.

[HeidiHo]

I think that even sold out excursions are usually posted but they just say sold out so if something isn't showing at all then it could be for another reason.

[Cruisin Dave]

Heidi,

FTTF, Faster to the Fun, is sold out and it is still posted. I think there are allot of the excursions that have not be posted yet. I'm really surprised at the slim pickings we have for excursions at most of these ports. Maybe more choises will pop up soon.

Dave